Thursday, June 10, 2010

Elton John Gets The Bum's Rush

A mini "scandal" of sorts, when it leaked out that Elton John - amazing talented, flamboyantly gay - played at the wedding of Rush Limbaugh. Or should I say, "played at the wedding of the fear-mongering, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, hate-spewing Rush Limbaugh"?But it turns out that John's views on gay marriageare pretty much in line with America's favorite talk show host:"What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage… I don’t want to be married. I’m very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership… You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships.” – Elton JohnPersonally, I agree with Elton 100%. Ironically, most of the gay people that I know are also opposed to gay marriage (in which they will constantly point out that one of the whole points of being gay is the lack of commitment; they fear that if gay marriage becomes institutionalized, the fun will be over, and they will wind up like every other straight guy whose girlfriend is badgering them for a ring) as well. I guess they're not activists, just....regular people. So what do they know?But back to Elton. I think it's important to point out that Elton John has never hesitated to cross barriers in order to make the so-called "haters" understand. He played with Axel Rose, when the Guns front man was assailed for his anti-gay remarks. He did a duet with angry white rapper Eminem, when he too was under attack for his gay-hostile lyrics. This takes courage in a world full of Elvis Costellos, Los Lobos, and Pixies, performers/bands that simply refuse to play in nations/states that don't adhere to the entertainment industry's code of political correctness.Elton has tried to bring those who don't agree with him not necessarily over to his side, but to a place of mutual understanding, respect, and kindness towards each other. And that's not easy to do. Just ask Barack Obama, who talks about bi-partisanship but fills every speech, statement, and press conference with scathing oratory and invective against his detractors, and who refuses to meet/talk with those who don't share his worldview (see Jan Brewer, the president of BP, etc.). He could learn a thing or two from Sir Elton.Not surprisingly, for his bravery, Elton is paying the price:"I'm flabbergasted," Aaron Hicklin, Editor-in-Chief of Out, told PopEater. "It betrays either ignorance or self-interest or both, and jeopardizes his admirable record on gay rights."Michael Musto of the Village Voice called the Rocket Man a "whore" for his actions on Monday’s "Countdown With Keith Olbermann." And blogs like Queerty.com as well as the comment sections at websites for The Advocate and Out Magazine have been lighting up with tsks about the singer's apparent hypocrisy, according to PopEater.

Still, it seems unlikely that the Rocket Man will admit fault in his apparent support of the conservative couple....The media wants Elton to flagellate himself for trying to reach across the aisle to promote understanding. Apparently, to liberals, that is an unacceptable and unforgivable breach of protocol. Without the hate, they've got nothing.I urge Elton to continue his outreach; he's done more to soften people's views of the gay community than any shrieking, sign-carrying supporter of Proposition 8. Stay strong; and if I may paraphrase a certain song, the hatred will burn out before your legend ever will...